Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit Dies at 93, Nation Enters Year-long Mourning
Thailand's Queen Sirikit waves to people during her arrival in Chinatown for Lunar New Year celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand, on Jan. 23, 2012. (Sukree Sukplang/Reuters)
Bangkok, Thailand — Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother passed away peacefully on October 24, 2025, at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok. She was 93. Sirikit had been out of the public eye since a stroke in 2012. The announcement from the Royal Household Bureau stated she had been receiving hospital care since 2019 for multiple health issues, and in mid-October had developed a serious bloodstream infection on October 17 before passing away late on Friday.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn has directed a year-long mourning period for the royal family and household. Flags will be flown at half-mast for a month, and members of the royal family and staff will observe mourning rites according to tradition.
Queen Sirikit, born on August 12, 1932, in Bangkok, married King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) in 1950 and became Queen consort. Sirikit's husband, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was Thailand's longest-reigning monarch, with 70 years on the throne since 1946. She was at his side for much of that, winning over hearts at home with their charity work. She later became Queen Mother after her husband’s death in 2016.
Her legacy includes championing rural development, women’s empowerment, and traditional crafts she often visited remote Thai villages and supported weaving, silk and handicraft industries, serving as a style icon on the global stage in the 1960s and 70s, earning comparisons to Jackie Kennedy for her elegance and taste and representing continuity in the Thai monarchy during decades of political change though publicly apolitical, she occasionally played a role behind the scenes in royal affairs.
Queen Sirikit's death marks the end of an era in Thailand’s modern monarchy she bridged traditional royal roles with modern public service, and her iconic status resonated both domestically and internationally.
Her passing will prompt a full state funeral and memorials, including a lying-in-state at the Grand Palace and national tributes. A one-year official mourning period that will influence public events, national celebrations, and cultural programming across Thailand and reflection on her role in shaping royal influence, social programmes and Thailand’s soft-power image abroad.
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